the ones in newtown or any of the lesser known tragedies in small towns and big cities all across america every day. since friday morning a police officer was gunned down in memphis leaving four children without their mother. two officers were killed outside a grocery store in topeka. a woman was shot and killed inside a las vegas casino. three people were shot inside an alabama hospital. a 4-year-old was caught in a drive-by in missouri and taken off life support just yesterday. each one of these americans was a victim of the everyday gun violence that takes the lives of more than 10,000 americans every year. violence that we cannot accept as routine. so i will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed the at preventing more tragedies like this. we won't prevent them all, but that can't be an excuse not to try. it won't be easy, but that can't be an excuse not to try. i'm not going to be able to do it by myself. ultimately, if this effort is to succeed, it's going to require the help of the american people. it's going to require all of you you. if we're going to cha